Eliminating plastic bags on PC to-do list
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/09/2019 (1829 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Brian Pallister said the province would work with the private sector to eliminate the use of plastic bags in Manitoba, although he didn’t provide a timeline.
“We’re going to proceed to co-operate with the private sector because it’s there where the distribution of virtually all plastic bags occurs, and make sure that we make progress on this file,” the premier told reporters Wednesday.
Pallister provided few details, saying his government would have more to say in the coming months.
Premier’s Top 10 list
Premier Brian Pallister unveiled his plan for the government’s first 100 days in office Wednesday, which includes 100 tasks he’d like to see all departments accomplish. Here are 10 items of interest (and the department responsible for carrying them out). For the full list, click here.
Premier Brian Pallister unveiled his plan for the government’s first 100 days in office Wednesday, which includes 100 tasks he’d like to see all departments accomplish. Here are 10 items of interest (and the department responsible for carrying them out). For the full list, click here.
1. “Introduce legislation to replace the outdated Civil Service Act with a new statute, The Public Service Act, to reflect modern workplace standards and values.” (Civil Service Commission)
2. “Introduce legislation to streamline Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation’s claims dispute process to vehicles to improve timeliness of service and reduce red tape.” (Crown Services)
3. “Develop legislative changes to allow restaurants to deliver liquor directly to customers.” (Crown Services)
4. “Issue mandate letters to all post-secondary institutions receiving provincial operating funding to outline expected student outcomes and financial accountability requirements.” (Education and Training)
5. “Bring forward a mandate review for the Department of Education and Training, improving capacity to respond to the K-12 review and the phase-out of education taxes.” (Education and Training)
6. “Begin consultation and development of a new program to support Manitobans with disabilities that is distinct and separate from existing Employment Income Assistance program supports.” (Families)
7. “Restructure Investors Group Field arrangement to make it more transparent and sustainable for taxpayers and the Winnipeg Football Club.” (Finance)
8. “Develop a plan in consultation with the federal government and Manitoba municipalities to build 150 kilometres of active living trails through the Investing in Canada Plan.” (Infrastructure)
9. “Engage the City of Winnipeg and the City of Brandon to develop an appropriate regulatory framework to introduce Next Generation 911 (NG911) services based on interoperability with other levels of government and provinces.” (Infrastructure)
10. “Increase enforcement and prosecution under The Wildlife Act against individuals who endanger public safety and wildlife populations by illegally night hunting.” (Sustainable Development)
The announcement came as a surprise because the Progressive Conservatives were silent on the issue during the recent election campaign.
The initiative was one of a dozen items the premier highlighted as he discussed his re-elected government’s goals for its first 100 days in office.
Pallister said the province has been considering the elimination of plastic bags for some time. He said “many Manitobans” believe it is a matter that needs to be dealt with.
“We’ve seen some of the private companies already demonstrating a willingness to lead on this issue and we think that the appetite of Canadians is one that says, ‘let’s get greener.’ And having more plastic bags rolling around the countryside isn’t my idea of a good thing,” he said.
Sustainable Development Minister Rochelle Squires raised the issue in a Jan. 1, 2018, tweet commenting on the implementation of Montreal’s long-planned single-use plastic bags ban. “Very good news for Montreal. Should Winnipeg add itself to the growing list of municipalities to ban these shopping bags?” she wrote, adding the hashtag, #somethingworthconsidering.
In an interview a little over a year ago, Squires said she was dissatisfied with the incremental reductions Manitoba had been making to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags, but she didn’t set any targets.
About 167 million plastic bags were distributed in the province in 2016, a report released last year said.
John Graham, a spokesman for the Retail Council of Canada, said his organization has had discussions with the province on the issue for the past 18 months.
“We’ve seen some of the private companies already demonstrating a willingness to lead on this issue and we think that the appetite of Canadians is one that says, ‘let’s get greener.’ And having more plastic bags rolling around the countryside isn’t my idea of a good thing.”
– Premier Brian Pallister
“This is a good news story as long as there are some practical exemptions and reasonable timelines for any implementation of regulations,” he said.
Examples of exemptions retailers would like to see include produce bags in grocery stores and small bags for pharmaceuticals, he said.
Graham said retailers prefer a provincial, rather than a municipal, approach to the issue. If the matter is left with municipalities, there could be a hodge podge of rules in a single province.
He said some retailers are moving towards reducing or eliminating single-use plastics. Sobeys stores will eliminate plastic bags across Canada in January. Other retailers are charging customers for bags as a way to reduce their use.
Prince Edward Island banned plastic bags on July 1 after giving retailers a year’s notice, Graham said. British Columbia appears poised to take some action as well, he added.
Jane Roussak of the Green Action Centre in Downtown Winnipeg, applauded the move.
“As we’ve already seen, single-use plastics are a major contributor to the waste stream in Manitoba. You can envision the Brady Landfill on a windy day in Manitoba. You’ve got plastic bags flying around everywhere,” she said.
“Now to have a policy such as this just means that we can finally tackle this issue. Plastics resonate forever. They’re a major contributor to the waste stream, as I mentioned, and the common misconception is they eventually break down, but this can take up to thousands of years.”
NDP Leader Wab Kinew said his party would support a move away from single-use plastic bags, but he wasn’t sure how committed Pallister is to the notion.
“I’m passionate about the environment. I think looking at getting rid of some of these plastics is important, but this, to be frank, sounds like one of the things Pallister talks about in a scrum and then we never see any action,” Kinew said.
Meanwhile, Pallister said that by Dec. 20, he plans to make progress on a number of PC campaign promises, including bringing forward legislation to begin implementing promised tax cuts.
The government will start to implement recommendations from its review this year of planning, permitting and zoning in Manitoba.
And, it will begin working with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority to create 200 new nursing positions, he said.
While the timing is subject to agreement with opposition parties, the legislative assembly is likely to reconvene on Sept. 30 to pass the spring budget, he said. The vote on the budget had been delayed until fall before the election was called.
larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca
Larry Kusch
Legislature reporter
Larry Kusch didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life until he attended a high school newspaper editor’s workshop in Regina in the summer of 1969 and listened to a university student speak glowingly about the journalism program at Carleton University in Ottawa.
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